


Superhero On The Brain

by CarrieLovesNewt



Category: The Maze Runner (2014), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Awkwardness, Inspired By Tumblr, M/M, Minho is a wingman, Newt is a Dork, Photographer!Newt, Socially Awkward Thomas, Superhero Thomas, Superhero!Thomas, Superheroes, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-05 13:09:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3121340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarrieLovesNewt/pseuds/CarrieLovesNewt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long story short, Thomas is a superhero who goes by the name ‘Facade’, and has been for about three years.</p><p>Newt is a photographer who just got offered a job in the local tabloid, assigned to take as many photos of the city’s masked superhero as humanly possible. (He’s also kind of a Facade fan, but that’s just between you and me.)</p><p>Newt and Thomas have gone to the same school for years, and Thomas may have sort of developed a huge crush on the young photographer in middle school. The only problem being Thomas has never actually had a conversation with the guy that lasted longer than twenty-seven seconds.</p><p>So he can stop a bloody bus going one hundred miles an hour with one arm but he can’t ask his crush out on a date? Great.</p><p>trailer:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzkRzh2FAgo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is basically my first entry of my multi chapter fic 'Superhero on the brain' which was heavily inspired by something i saw on tumblr.
> 
> This is my first fic, so I'd really appreciate some feedback! Thanks xx

Thomas belly-flopped onto his bed, tearing his black mask from his face and tossing it to the ground. Out of all the costumes…it had to be spandex. Not only was it fucking uncomfortable as shit, but it was also really awkward to dry-clean.

His entire ‘get-up’ as his mom referred to it, was made out of nothing but black material, and took about an hour to put on and take off. Though, Thomas had discovered over the years it was much easier to just wear it under his day clothes.

He lazily glanced up at his alarm clock, and groaned in frustration. Seven thirty am.

“Thomas! Bus is here!” his mother called from the bottom of the steps. Thomas blearily buried his face into his pillow before letting out a long and rowdy grumble. “Thomas--”

“I heard you the first time, mom!” He called, rolling his eyes.

“You think just because you’re a superhero, you’re allowed to skive off school?” She said, still waiting at the bottom of the steps.

“Oh, sure alert the whole neighborhood, why don’t you?” Thomas said with a sarcastic slur. The fatigued brunette took a long deep breath, and triggered his speed ability, grabbing a shirt and a pair of jeans from his dresser, brushing his teeth, fixing his hair, washing his face, grabbing his books and tying his laces within a matter of a second.

He made his way down the stairs at normal speed, since his mother had made a rule about ‘no powers in the house’. “You took your time.” His mother joked, as he passed her down the stairs.

He simply smirked and ran a hand through his hair. “See you later, mom.”

“Have a good day, sweetie.” She said, her voice as soft and tender as usual. When you’re the single mother of the city’s superhero, you learn to cherish every moment spent with your loved ones. “Be safe.”

“Safety is for shanks.” Thomas stated, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek, before making his way out the door.

…

“Why would I do that?” Thomas said with a raised eyebrow, as he trekked down the hallway towards his locker. Minho followed after him, still wearing his gym kit from last period.

“Why? Do I really have to answer that?” Minho let out a laborious sigh and lolled his head back. “Come on man, with you on the team, we’re bound to win the Track nationals!”

Thomas stopped by his locker and began fiddling with his combination key. “Look, for the last fucking time, I’m not joining the Runners.”

Minho hit his head against Thomas’ shoulder in frustration. “You are a real shucking shuck-face, you know that right?”

Thomas laughed beneath his breath. Minho was the only other person, aside from his mother, to know about his double life. Frankly, the only reason he’d decided to tell him about Facade was because Minho was officially his best and only friend.

Their conversation was silenced as a familiar young blond with dark chocolate eyes and a camera strapped around his neck approached them. “Oh, guess who.” Minho whispered, and Thomas felt as though he was going to be sick.

“Hey Minho.” Newt said, as he made his way over to his own locker, which was about two spaces down from Thomas’.

“Hey, shank. How’s it going?” The Asian gave a mini salute in the blond boy’s direction. Thomas simply stared ineptly as the two had their little conversation.

“Ah, it’s alright.” Newt shrugged, before noticing the young brunette staring at them from over Minho’s shoulder. “Hey, Thomas.” Thomas opened him mouth to say something, but lost the will to speak and simply settle for a stiff head nod.

“You guys been watching the news lately?” Newt asked, his strong British accent taking Thomas by storm.

Minho sneered. “Do you even know me?”

The British boy rolled his eyes and gave Minho a subtle punch to the arm. “You know what I’m talking about. This whole Facade thing.”

“Oh yeah?” The Asian boy couldn’t help pulling a smile across his lips as he turned towards Thomas, raising his eyebrow in a questioning manner. Thomas mouthed the words ‘Don’t look at me’ and hid his face behind his locker door. “The whole city’s been talking about him. Can’t imagine why though. He’s just a shank in a costume. Ain’t that right, Thomas?” The brunette shot Minho a death glare and slammed the door of his locker so hard, one of the hinges flew from its bedding within the metal. Well, shit. Sometimes it sucked to be super.

“He’s bloody brilliant, that’s why.” Newt said with a bright chuckle. Thomas gave a subtle glance. The way that boy smiled made his heart beat at an embarrassingly high rate. “He saves lives every day without any payment. I mean if that’s not heroic I don’t know what is. He’s out there every hour of every day. With him in the city, we can be sure everyone can live a safe and happy life.”

“Sounds like a lady’s man.” Minho said with a satirical blend to his tone.

The bell sounded, signaling the start of first lesson. Thomas let out a painstaking sigh of relief.

“Hey, I’m going to go find Alby and the rest of the bloody lot. I’ll see you second lesson.” Newt said, as he made his way down the hall towards the science department.

Minho turned back towards the shriveling brunette, a look of complete amusement on his smug little face. “Good job, mister Facade.” The Asian murmured, his voice sodden with sarcasm.

“Shut up.” Thomas hissed, hitting his head against his locker, creating a sizable dent in the metal with his forehead. “God, I hate my life.”

…

“Have you started on the year book photos yet?” Alby questioned, as they stood outside the usual coffee shop from around the corner. Newt took a generous sip from his morning tea, and gave a half-hearted shrug.

“I’ve been a little busy, you know with work and all that. It’s hard to get any good pictures these days.” Newt commented, running the back of his hand over his eyes.

“You know, you’re going to work yourself to death if you keep this up, Newt.” Alby said with a hint of concern in his voice. “You should take time off, maybe start seeing someone.”

“Why the bloody hell would I want to do that?” Newt said, almost taking humor in Alby’s words.

“Let me see, you’ve been single for how long now?” The blond shot his best friend a stare that could murder. “Hey, I’m just saying, life isn’t just about work, my friend.”

“Well, your life, maybe not. But mine is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I actually have places to be.” Newt huffed, his voice tinted with an ounce of annoyance.

“Fine, fine. But don’t blame me when you end up in a home for old people with twenty-seven cats and forty cups of coffee.” Newt snorted broadly, and turned to make his way across the road. Alby turned to his watch and made a straight line for the bookstore down the street.

As Newt slowly paced over the unoccupied main road, he began fiddling with his camera, deleting the blurred photographs and failed shots. To be honest, most of the photos he ended up taking were out-of-focus, due to the fact his unspoken superhero never seemed to be seen standing still. Though, he was determined to get at least one good shot before the end of the year. Not just for the money, but also for himself.

Newt was so resolute on sorting through his photo feed; he’d only noticed the deafening screech of metal breaks at the last moment. The car sped towards him, and Newt’s heart fell, as he prepared himself for the impact, only to be pushed onto his side and landing against the tarmac.

The second Newt opened his eyes; he’d been completely surrounded by a crowd of staring citizens. He looked up, and as soon as he did so, he’d become completely and utterly deprived of oxygen.

A man dressed in complete black with a mask covering his head crouched over him, one hand supporting Newt’s waist, and the other holding back the stopped car, which now had a massive dent upon its side from the crash against his hand.

“Uh, hey.” Facade said with his voice slightly muffled by the material of his mask. Newt was taken completely breathless, unable to look away from the man. “You alright?”

“Y-yeah…” Newt managed to choke up, as Facade pushed the car aside with one arm, and helped Newt to his feet.

“Ever heard of traffic lights?” Facade said with a hint of amusement in his voice. The people had started to crowd around in complete amazement, taking videos on their phones and whispering amongst one another. Newt covered his mouth, a blush appearing upon his cheeks as he stared down at the ground with embarrassment. Facade seemed to pause, completely captivated by the blonde’s incontrovertible beauty. “Well-- uh, at least you’re alright.”

Facade turned to leave the scene, just before Newt cleared his throat, finally knocking some sense into himself. “Hey!” Facade turned towards Newt curiously. “…Do you mind if I get a picture?” Newt said with a somewhat mischievous smirk.

Facade gave a nonchalant shrug, and Newt snapped a perfect shot of him before the crowd. He smiled and nodded his head. “Thanks.”

“Any time.” He replied. “See you around…” Facade pretended to glance at the photographer’s ID card around his neck. “Newt.” And just like that, he disappeared, speeding past the crowd so fast, you could scarcely see him, and Newt kept a smile on his face for the rest of the day.

…

Thomas booted up his laptop and clicked on his open news feed, pulling his mask from his face and throwing it somewhere across the room.

‘FACADE SAVES STUDENT FROM SPEEDING CAR’

‘CITY’S SUPERHERO STRIKES AGAIN’

‘FACADE PROTECTS YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER’

It’d been less than an hour, and it’d already spread onto social media. To say Thomas was feeling pretty proud of himself would be a heavy understatement. Not only had he saved Newt’s life, but he’d also awestruck him beyond belief. Life was good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...okay, I'M SORRY.
> 
> I literally forgot this existed, but I'm going to finish it, I PROMISE. Since I now remember I have to do it, I'm going to update this consistently now, so don't worry about it. (I really am sorry, and I'll update soon, I promise...that is, if people are still interested, hehe)
> 
> Thank youuuuuuuuu xxxx

Thomas stared himself down in his bathroom mirror, fiddling with his hair as he took a deep breath. “Okay, I got this…I got this…asking a guy out, I mean…how hard can it be? I’m Facade for shuck’s sake; I should be good at this! Ah, fuck it.”

“Thomas!” His mother called once again, as per usual. “Thomas Edison, you get down here right now young man! The bus is leaving without you!”

“Jesus Christ mom, I’m in the middle of something!” Thomas finished combing his hair and placed the brush by the sink. Giving himself one last look in the mirror, rather unsatisfied with his appearance, before he ran out through the door and made his way into the hall. “I’m taking a run!”

Mrs. Edison dropped her stack of laundry onto the tabletop. “You’re running to school? What if someone sees you?”

“Fine, I’ll…jog.” Thomas threw his bag over his shoulder and kicked the front door open. “See ya’.”

“Don’t get into any trouble, you hear me?” She huffed.

“Love you, mom.” He droned, leaving the door open for her to close after he’d made his way around the corner.

“Love you too, Thomas!” She called, causing Thomas to cringe, turning his head left and right to see if anyone had noticed, making haste to run his way towards Glader’s High.

…

“I don’t understand why you gotta’ take it so seriously, I mean, just ask him out for shuck’s sake.” Minho and Thomas stood at the starting line of the track field, waiting for the coach to call line up. Thomas honestly hated sprint practice, mainly because he found it boring as shit. Not only did it not challenge him physically in the slightest, but he also had to deliberately slow his place so the coach didn’t get suspicious (and even then, he was still top runner, despite him refusing to join the track team.)

“Easy for you to say, Mister ‘Keeper of the Runners’. The girls practically throw themselves at you.” Thomas said, pulling at the edge of his gym shirt. The fact that Minho was one of the most popular guys at Glader’s high meant that Thomas didn’t get much trouble around school, despite his social dysfunction and other general problems.

“So? You’re a fucking superhero for shuck’s sake!” Minho hissed, minding to keep his voice low so the others didn’t overhear. “Stop being such a shank and man the shuck up!”

Thomas frowned and shook his head. The sharp sound of Coach’s whistle could be heard from the other end of the track. “Line up!” He called.

Thomas stood by his track, Ben on his left and Minho on his right. “Y’alright, Thomas?” Ben asked. Thomas gave a nonchalant shrug. “Heard from a certain someone that you’ve got a thing for Brits.”

Thomas’ head snapped towards Minho with a glare. “You told him?”

“It may have slipped out.” The dark haired man said with a smirk. “Relax. Ben won’t tell anyone.”

“Probably.” Ben corrected, causing the brunette to shudder. “Besides, it’s kind of funny watching you swoon over the guy from a distance.”

“Ah, shut the fuck up.” Thomas huffed.

“Alright class! On your Marks!” Coach began.

The line of students lowered to their hands, getting to their first mark position. “By the way…” Minho whispered over to Thomas.

“Get set!”

The students got ready to run, their line of vision focused soulfully on the track. “Guess who’s here.”

Thomas’ head shot up to see the young photographer standing at the far end of the field beside the coach, waiting to take pictures for the yearbook, raising his camera to his eye with a smile, and Thomas felt his heart begin to race.

Coach blew the whistle, and the team set off. Minho was almost taken aback by how fast Thomas had started out. With a snigger of satisfaction, he sprinted after the brunette, knowing fully well that there was no way in beating Thomas, him being so far up front.

It was as though Thomas hadn’t realized how fast he was going, as he approached the finish, turned his head over his shoulder, and received the sudden recognition that the other runners were way behind him, already breaking a sweat. Thomas momentarily looked down at his chest and noticed he’d not got a drop of sweat on him, which caused a slight problem as he crossed first by the finish.

Newt snapped a photograph as Thomas passed the far edge of the track, the coach sounding his whistle. Thomas once again looked back over his shoulder, and it took about fifteen seconds for the runner-up to reach the finish, sweat beating from his brow as he doubled over in an attempt to recover from the race.

“Bloody hell.” Thomas had heard the Brit utter beneath his breath. He turned to see the blond only a few steps away from him, a grand smile on his face. “You on a high or something, Thomas?”

“…What?” Thomas questioned rather dumbly.

“You were running so fast, I could barely catch the photo! How come I’ve never seen you run before?” Newt asked.

Thomas’ lip quivered slightly as he gave a coy shrug. Minho joined the two, a water bottle in his left hand as he leant against Thomas’ shoulder with his free arm. “It’s because this shank ain’t on the Runner’s squad. The son of a slint-head’s too cool for that klunk.”

Newt giggled, brushing a lose hair behind his ear. “Shame. Seems like a waste of talent if you ask me.” Thomas raised his brow in surprise. “Hey, is it okay if I put you in the yearbook? Glader’s fastest Runner on the pages might get us a little attention, you know.”

Thomas froze for a moment, searching for something to say, his heart pounding faster than it had when he was running. “…Um--”

“He means yeah.” Minho said with a side-smile and Newt nodded his head thankfully.

“Alright, well, see you guys later then, yeah?” Minho gave the Brit a solitary salute. “Good luck with your running, Tommy.” Newt smiled, before making his way back into the school building.

“You are a shucking embarrassment.” Minho uttered, giving Thomas a punch on the side of the arm, which probably would have hurt if the brunette weren’t a super-human.

“…He called me Tommy.” Thomas uttered, still caught in a daze of contentment.

“Jesus Christ…” Minho rolled his eyes, making his way back towards the training group, before Thomas grabbed him by the collar, a new persona of private self-assurance in his expression.

“You gotta’ let me join the Runners, Min.”

“Oh sure, when I ask you to join, it’s all ‘I don’t do running’, but when Mister pretty boy brings it up, you’re suddenly interested. Wow. Just, wow.” Minho brushed Thomas off with a gaudy huff.

“Is that a yes?” Thomas asked. Minho murmured beneath his breath and punched his best friend in the stomach, not even drawing the slightest flinch from the boy. “Thank you--”

“Shut up.”

…

“Okay, mom, I’m a little busy right now.” Thomas sat on top of the lamppost, dressed in his usual Facade attire. So far, no one had actually noticed the clad-black superhero perched leisurely upon the post, not that it mattered; its just Thomas wasn’t really in the mood for creating a scene. “What? No, I’m not avoiding the subject, I’m just saying…” Thomas gave a sigh as his mother jabbered down the line, holding his mobile to the left of his face. “Okay, seriously, I’d love to talk about collage and shit but I really gotta’ go. I’ll think about it, alright?” 

It was then that he noticed the thunderous sound of fire alarms ringing through a nearby building, and Thomas merely rolled his eyes. “Uh, okay mom, you’re breaking up. Hello? Hello? Can’t hear you, sorry?” Thomas hung up and left his mobile on the top of the post, knowing he’d come back later to pick it up.

With that he jumped from the post landing upon the gravel beneath with a thud, sending a slight shake through the ground. The citizens marveled at the sudden appearance of their greatest superhero. “Excuse me, coming through.” Thomas sped through the hefty crowds of people until he was standing in front of the crumbling building, examining the structure with a sharp eye, using his x-ray vision to find everyone who was still in the building.

Alby and Newt arrived just in time to see a masked man disappear into the blazing skyscraper. “Buggin’ hell.”

“The whole thing just caught on fire.” Alby said, as the police began to push the crowds away from the entrance. “Facade certainly got here fast.” Alby commented. News reporters were already beginning to gather at the scene, filming and documenting everything outside the fire.

“Come on.” Newt insisted, dragging Alby along to get a closer view of it all. “We’re here for a reason, mate. You wanna’ get paid or not?” 

Alby grumbled, taking a sip of his coffee and uncapping his camera. “Glad to know someone’s enjoying themselves.”

It wasn’t long before Facade was by the entrance of the building once more, carrying a couple of survivors over his shoulders and leading a group of young victims out with a helping hand. The medical services rushed over and began treatment immediately.

The fire department came pushing through the crowd towards Facade, who was still helping the citizens to safety. As soon as he’d done so, he called to the firemen. “Someone blew a fuse in the basement. This thing could go off any minute. You got to get these people out of here.”

The head fireman nodded swiftly and began pushing back the crowd.

Newt and Alby raised their cameras and joined the other photographers in taking as many photos before they were ushered backwards.

Newt gave a vague huff before weaving himself through the line of police, making his way towards the ambulance parked just outside the building, ignoring Alby’s calls for him to come back. “Officer,” he called showing the man his Press pass. The policeman looked over. “How long do these people have until the building shatters?”

“Can’t be too sure.” He replied simply.

“Not long.” Newt heard a familiar profound voice behind him, unintentionally flinching with surprise and turning around to see the tall young man dressed in black only a few feet away from him. “The gas in the basement has been broken for a while. It should have exploded a while ago.”

“…Uh…” Newt blushed, covering his mouth, still unable to process the situation.

Facade simply chuckled and shook his head. “It’s Facade, in case you forgot. Newt, right?”

“…Uh, yeah.” The young photographer couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, acting like such an idiot in front of his idol. “You remember me?”

Facade shrugged his shoulders. “Those eyes are kinda’ hard to forget.” He gave a chaste snicker and scratched the back of his neck, causing Newt to redden even more so, biting his lip and staring at the ground. “You, uh, you should get back to the security barrier. It’s not safe for you to be next to the building." Newt complied with a nod.

The fireman had already begun to file out of the area to call for backup. The ambulance had taken off with the survivors and the police had surrounded the area.

Newt began to walk from the scene making his way back over towards Alby, only to hear a violent gush and boom, within seconds the doors collapsing and blazing fire exploding from the open mouth of the doorway. A siren was called and screams could be heard from all around. Newt fell to the ground with surprise, to find Facade clasping him by his waist as the flames erupted from the building, using his body to shield the blond from the harsh flames.

The eruption lasted for about ten seconds, and luckily the entire building stayed standing, and by then people were much further from the scene. Facade stood and pulled Newt with him, who was still holding at his arm in shock. “…You alright?” Newt glanced up at Facade, and noticed he was completely undamaged. “The suit’s fireproof.” Newt lowered his head and gave a sigh. “You know I’m starting to think you want to get yourself killed, Jesus Christ.” Facade muttered. Newt smirked, allowing himself to take a step away from the man. “Is everyone alright?” Facade had called towards the police. They gave a nod as the crowd began to calm.

As soon as the fire dried out, the camera flashing resumed, and Facade found himself wishing to retreat. He gave Newt a final solemn look. “Thank you…again.”

“…Well, thank you for letting me assist.” Facade laughed. “Not that you had much choice in the matter.” With that, he was gone.

…

“Okay, that’s like the second time you’ve been on the headlines. Are you like for real, dude?” Winston smirked as Newt tossed the newspaper in the trashcan by his locker. The two made their way down the busy hall, the blond seemingly in a bad mood.

“Shut up. I already got enough shit from the rest of the buggin’ press. They won’t leave me the shuck alone!” Newt huffed, rolling his sleeves with a shake of the head.

“Well, if you ask me, I’d say Facade’s one lucky son of a bitch.” He stated, and Newt simply rolled his eyes.

“Think it’s the other way around, mate.” Newt said groggily.

At that moment, Newt passed a bunch of rowdy lower year kids, as they ran straight through the hall, screaming and cheering like there was no tomorrow, and Newt felt himself want to cover his ears, but resisted the urge. One of the boys knocked him fanatically against the shoulder, and he felt himself lose his balance.

With a gasp, Newt tripped and stumbled to the floor, his body inches away from colliding with the ground before he felt his weight become supported by a set of accustomed muscular arms that felt all too familiar. He looked up to see Thomas, the usually so timid and coy young man standing over him with an arm around his waist, pulling him back to his feet.

“Wow, man! Didn’t see that coming.” Winston snorted, and that was when the two noticed that almost everyone in the hallway was staring at them.

“Oh, thanks Tommy.” Newt uttered, brushing himself off.

Thomas hummed shyly, coughing into his hand. “Uh…yeah, sure thing.” Newt knew he was being stupid for even considering it…but that voice, those arms…that touch…every little detail seemed to vaguely reflect the anonymous character of Facade.

Newt watched as the brunette wondered off down the hall to find Minho, his curiosity only growing. It couldn’t be…

“You sure do like falling over.”

“Shut up, Winston.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no time to re-read, so do excuse any mistakes xxx  
> (pfft, I'll do it later)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was talking with a friend on youtube, and she said she'd make a fanfiction trailer for Superhero On The Brain, and HERE IT IS!!!!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzkRzh2FAgo
> 
> I think she did a pretty good job, so if you're enjoying this fic, please go check it out in the link!

“It has been roughly seventeen years since project SHS1 was put into action.” Ava Paige lowered to her seat at the end of the table. All top authority figures of ‘WICKED’ Co were present. They’d not called a full house meeting in over three years. “For those of you who are new to the SHI project, I’ll make it short. Seventeen years ago, our team developed a serum that supposedly increased human strength, agility, speed, reflexes and much more.

“A few months after this was developed, we selected ten test subjects, well, new born children. These ten were given a single dose of the serum to see if it worked. They were to be monitored throughout the span of their entire life. Neither them nor their parents are aware of our actions because it was done without any granted approval.

“Test subjects 4, 3, 9, 2 and 5 are being monitored within their family homes as we speak, and have yet to show any signs of super-human abilities. We believe these five to have been failed tests.

“Test subjects 6, 7, 8 and 10 are the diseased, and have died of unknown causes. We believe that the dosage given to them may not have been compatible to their blood, and thus, killed them after a few years of life.

“Test subject 1, however, is in a more complex situation. You see, five months after Subject 1 was dosed, he went missing, along with his mother. We believe that The Right Arms may have put them under a protection program, most likely changed their identities as well. To this day, we have yet to locate subject 1, and will not be able to proceed in our investigation until we do so, and finding him will not be easy…however, we do have one clue.”

Ava turned on her slideshow projection, and a video of a young man dressed in black appeared. It was of a news report filmed less than a week ago.

“Facade. This masked man displays every characteristic and improvement that our serum was supposed to provide, and more. Ladies and gentlemen, this superhero, Facade, can be none other than our very own Test Subject 1.”

…

“Hey, guess who!” Teresa called, causing Thomas to practically jump out of his own skin, turning from his study desk to see a familiar young girl sitting upon his windowsill.

Teresa and Thomas had been neighbors for seven years now. They weren’t so much as friends, and more of unrelated siblings. They fought on occasion, but at the end of the day, they were there for each other. Having said that, Thomas hadn’t actually told Teresa about Facade, due to the fact that, despite his care for her, he wasn’t entirely sure she could be trusted, mainly due to the fact she worked for WICKED.

Everyone knew about WICKED co. It was a Science investigation unit devoted to researching super-human abilities. They were rumored to have been testing on humans for many years, however no evidence was provided to convict them of such a crime.

Thomas had always thought he’d been born with his strange powers, and according to his mother, he had. Though, he still believed there must be some root cause to him being the way he was, and if anyone knew the reason, it had to be WICKED.

“Oh, hey Teresa.” Thomas cleared his throat and zipped his hoodie up to the top to hide his black suit beneath it. “Uh, did you need something?”

“Jesus, not trying to get rid of my now, are you Tom?” Teresa questioned with a cheeky grin. Thomas rolled his eyes and leant back against his desk chair. “Just came by to ask if you’re free Thursday after classes. Apparently WICKED’s holding this ‘Facade’ exhibition down in central city. I’m gonna’ be working there all day, and it’d be cool if you could drop by to say hi.” 

Thomas raised his brow. “Really?”

“What? You don’t like superheroes?” Teresa smirked.

“Not a huge fan.” Thomas admitted. “Especially not ‘Facade’.”

“What’s wrong with Facade?” Teresa questioned. “WICKED seems pretty interested in him, for sure.”

“…Why?” Thomas asked curiously.

“Beats me. I don’t really get to find out about what goes on. Only the top ranking authorities get to know about that stuff. Ava Paige rarely ever releases information regarding their research.” Teresa shrugged her shoulders.

“…I think I’ll pass on the Expo.” Thomas yawned.

“Fine, but if you change your mind, I’ll be working security.” Teresa said with a smile. “And it’s free, so don’t worry about being ‘too poor’ to get in, ya’ cheapskate.” Thomas laughed and shook his head as Teresa jumped from his windowsill, making her way back over to her house.

…

 

“So, what changed your mind?” Ben asked, pulling his shirt back over his head. The Runners stood in the changing rooms, just finishing off from their Wednesday morning practice session. “I mean, if you hate Track Racing, why’d you do it?”

Thomas sat by the bench in the center of the room; lockers lined either side of him. Everyone had gone to have a shower after working up such a sweat, but since Thomas was physically incapable of doing so, he found he didn’t need it. “Uh--”

“It was that shank-ass Isaac, obviously.” Minho laughed, joining the two from around the corner, a towel wrapped across his waist and another over his head as he used it to dry his hair. Thomas shot Minho a glare, though decided not to say anything and just focused on packing away the rest of his gym kit.

“Ooh, sounds like someone’s got it bad!” The three heard Jeff call from the showers and Thomas turned his head down as the group laughed.

“Should have seen him yesterday.” Winston said as he joined the others, already changed with his bag over his shoulder. “Had his hands all over the guy, ain’t that right Thomas?”

Thomas turned a slight pale. “Why don’t you just ask him out?” Ben said with a subtle shrug. “Just a suggestion.”

“Exactly what I’ve been saying for like the past two years!” Minho shook his head and leant against his locker.

“Two years?” Winston exclaimed in astonishment. “Seriously?”

“No, man.” Minho corrected. “He’s been like this since middle school.”

“Wow.” Ben gave a chuckle and Thomas did his best to hide his embarrassment. “Okay, guys, new plan. We gotta’ make this shank here into a mother-shucking chick-magnet.”

“Technically speaking, Newt-magnet.” Jeff said, followed by the squeak of the faucet, silencing the patter of shower water. “But either way, it ain’t gonna’ be easy.”

“Yeah. He rejects pretty much everyone. Either the guy really relishes in playing hard to get, or he’s a shucking twat.” Minho groaned, grabbing a shirt and pulling it over his neck. “I’d go with the latter.”

Winston chuckled and sat beside Thomas at the bench. “You know, if you wanna’ start seeing him more, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to join the School Newspaper, what with him being head photographer and all.”

Thomas furrowed his brow; trying to remember when was it exactly that everyone decided they were now personally responsible for his social/non-existent love life.

With that, Thomas felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He glanced down and pulled it from his jeans before looking at his push-notifications on his screen.

‘Message from Mom: Hey sweetie x There’s a bank robbery downtown. You should see if you can make your way over xx’

Thomas gave a tired sigh, having already done five cases earlier that morning, nevertheless, slipping his phone back into his pocket and stood from the bench. “Well, I have to go, so--”

“Missing your little Brit already, are you?” Jeff joked with a snicker, and Thomas merely ignored him, making his way out towards the door.

As soon as he was out of sight, Winston felt the need to say, “Have you guys noticed Thomas always disappears in like, the middle of the day?”

“…Now that you mention it, that does happen a lot.” Winston added. “Weird.”

“You know what else is weird?” Minho intercepted, changing the subject as soon as he could. “The fact that Grand Nationals is in the middle of Summer Vacation.”

“Ah, shit!” Ben hit his fist against his locker in aggravation. “That’s in like two months!”

“Better get training boys.” Minho snapped. “We got a long few weeks ahead of us.”

…

Newt stood by the bus stop just outside of school, leaning against the sign as he flipped through his camera roll. Every time he passed a picture of Facade, he’d find himself unintentionally giving a tender smile. There was something about Facade that just made Newt’s heart melt. His selflessness, his bravery, his strength…the list went on.

“…You sure do like Facade, don’t you.” Newt turned his head, surprised to see anyone else here at this hour. Thomas stood not far from him beside the stop; hands shoved in his pockets and head relatively low.

Newt simply chuckled, biting his lower lip. “Yeah, guess you could say that, though, didn’t think there was anyone in this city who didn’t worship the guy.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I worship him.” Thomas said with a sigh, finding this situation fairly ironic. “But…I guess if he managed to catch your attention, he must be doing something right.”

Newt felt himself begin to blush, but he wasn’t entirely sure who’d been the one to cause it, Facade, or Thomas. “You ain’t jealous, are you Tommy?”

“Um…” Thomas hadn’t noticed when the blond had moved closer to him, but nevertheless, the gap between them had definitely gotten smaller. “…Yeah, I don’t have an answer to that.”

“Well, when you figure it out, feel free to give me a head’s up.” Newt gave Thomas such a smile that the brunette’s heart practically stopped, his entire body becoming dangerously deprived of oxygen. He shifted anxiously and gave a sideways glance as he scratched the back of his neck, causing Newt to flinch. “…Anyone ever told you that you look a lot like Facade?”

Thomas froze, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Um…no, not exactly…but it’d be kind of heard to look like Facade, considering he doesn’t have a face.”

“…Yeah, I know, it’s just…” Newt frowned, feeling as though he were going insane. “…I don’t know…there’s something about you that’s just so…Facade…hah, Jesus Christ, I’m sorry. I’m probably sounding like a buggin’ lunatic right now, ain’t I?”

“Kinda’.” Thomas said, pulling at his own shirt collar to allow himself to breathe. “But, hey, guess it’s not so bad to be considered ‘Superhero-like’.”

Newt giggled, coyly turning his eyes away, and Thomas could only wish to be so lucky as to one day have the blond in his arms for more than just a moment, and not just as Facade, but as himself.

It was then a bus appeared around the corner of the road, and Newt turned towards the brunette. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Uh…Newt…” Thomas cleared his throat, his heart suddenly racing. “…You…uh, you wouldn’t…um…like, happen to be…uh…like, um…I…there’s this thing, I, uh, Thursday in central city, if you…um…want to maybe, uh...or we could, um--”

Newt covered his mouth to stop himself from bursting into laughter, finding Thomas’ awkward stutters and mumbles to be remarkably adorable. “I’d love to.”

Thomas blinked his eyes twice over, somewhat unable to move from his position. “…You…”

“So, after school on Thursday did you say?”

“…Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure!” Thomas broke into a massive grin, stumbling a few steps forward, before clearing his throat in an attempt to calm himself.

“I’ll find you after my last Thursday class.” Thomas gave Newt a contented nod, and the blond couldn’t help but snigger, as his bus arrived beside him. “See you tomorrow, Tommy.”

Thomas watched as the bus drove up the road. As soon as it was out of sight, Thomas gave a cry of joy, throwing his hands up in the air. “Fuck yeah!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter was mainly just talking and stuff, but hopefully next chapter will be a little more exciting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm. So. Sorry.  
> It's been like a month or something, I don't even know. IN MY DEFENCE, I have a lot of shit that's hitting the fan right now, so I'M STRESSED, and yes THIS CHAPTER WAS REALLY RUSHED but I felt like I needed to update, so, here ya goooo!!!!
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please make sure to check out my friend's fan video for this fic :D
> 
> (Sidenote, reviews make me happy :D)
> 
> Thanks for reading :3

“Mom, where’s my bag?” Thomas called, arching his neck through the doorway.

“Well, where’d you leave it last?” Mrs. Edison uttered.

“If I knew that then I wouldn’t be asking!” Thomas hissed, fanning himself with his biology textbook. Honestly, wearing a spandex suit under a t-shirt, hoodie, jeans, socks and shoes in the middle of summer may have been a bad choice. His mother gave him a glare of disapproval. “Sorry, I’m just really shucking tired right now.”

“Honestly, Thomas.” She shook her head, folding one of Thomas’ old t-shirts before placing it upon the end of the ironing board. “You’ll work yourself to death at this rate. You really need to take a step back from all of this you know. Put the mask down for a week or two why don’t you.”

“Is that your loving way of saying I need to get a social life?” The brunette chuckled.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt for you to give it a try.” His mother said, causing Thomas to give an unintentional chuckle. “Hey, why don’t you start talking to that Teresa girl from next door? She’s pretty nice.”

“If you’re suggesting I date Teresa, then I’m gonna’ have to leave so I can go throw up in the bathroom.” Thomas stated rather bluntly. “Or have you already forgotten the fact that I’m kind of into guys now.” Mrs. Edison gave a subtle laugh.

“Go on, your bus is here.” She ushered the boy out of the doorway, “I’ll call you if I find that bag of yours.”

“Thanks mom.” Thomas said making his way to the front door and kicking it open with his foot.

“Oh, and by the way,” His mother called once more. “A young man stopped by this morning when you were out at the bank robbery down town. I’ve seen him at your school before; you know, blond hair, brown eyes, wonderful accent. Lovely boy he was, wanted to walk to school with you. I told him you were at a friend’s house, but I gave him your mobile number so he could catch up with you at school.”

Thomas’ jaw fell, almost choking on his own throat. “Wait, you did what?!”

“Well, he seemed so sad when I told him you were busy. I couldn’t just ignore him.” She said with a frown.

“Gah, mom! Do you realize what you’ve done?!” Thomas gave a heavy sigh, running his hands through his hair. “You know that guy I told you about when I was thirteen?”

“Oh…”

“EXACTLY.” Thomas grumbled. “Great, this is just…GREAT.” He’d known that Newt would have probably ended up with his phone number at one point or another, but not NOW! The fact that his ultimate crush now had the ability to contact him whenever he liked was more than a little unsettling. All Thomas could really think about was when Newt was going to call, or text, or whatever.

He knew he was totally overreacting, but STILL.

…

“Believe it or not, the shank’s relatively popular.” Minho smirked, his towel slung over his neck as he wiped a drop of sweat from his brow, standing beside the track and handing Thomas a bottle of water. Thomas was too busy spying on the blond photographer from across the running track to notice that Ben and Minho were practically dying of dehydration. “Think it’s the accent. Girls love it.”

“They know he’s gay, right?” Thomas snapped, almost possessively. Not to sound weird or anything, but over the period of six years, Thomas had watched Newt move in and drop out of exactly three relationships, and they all lasted less than three months. Now that Thomas actually had a chance to win Newt over, he wasn’t about to let some random fangirling Greenie get in the way of what could be his dream come true.

“Okay, technically, I think he’s bisexual.” Minho informed, causing Thomas to give a heavy sigh of ‘goddammit’. “You want my advice? Just be yourself, and see where it goes from there.”

“Well, being myself hasn’t exactly worked so far.” Thomas rolled his eyes. “The guy’s in love with Facade, not Thomas.”

“Dude, if he wasn’t interested he would have turned you down when you asked.” Minho punched Thomas in the shoulder with a sideways glare. “Don’t screw this up for yourself. You’ll only make things worse by thinking about it.”

“About what?” Thomas jumped in surprise and turned to see Frypan standing just behind him, a bag over his shoulder and another under his arm.

“Edison over here is going on a date with Newt after school.” Minho chuckled idly, giving Thomas a good pat on the back, causing the brunette to give a huff of frustration and elbow him in the chest.

“Wow, really? Damn, well, congrats man.” Frypan said with a friendly smirk.

“Congrats to what?” Ben called, as he stopped by the end of the track, pulling the bottle of water from Minho’s grip and taking a heavy gulp.

“Thomas is going on a date with Newt.” Frypan filled in. With that, Ben found himself spluttering, spitting his water to the ground with a melodramatic cough.

“Holy shucking hell, when’d this happen? And why am I only just finding out about this?” Ben turned behind him and placed two fingers in his mouth, letting out a boisterous whistle and grabbing the attention of both Jeff and Winston from the other side of the field, causing Thomas to turn a deep shade of red and hide his head behind Minho’s shoulder. “HEY JEFF, WINSTON! GUESS WHAT!”

“WHAT?!” Winston called back.

“Kill me, kill me now.” Thomas demanded, and Minho simply waved him off, unable to keep a smile of satisfaction off of his face, finding Thomas’ embarrassment to be remarkably amusing.

“THOMAS IS GOING ON A DATE WITH NEWT!” Ben exclaimed with a huge grin. By this point, everyone on the field, including Newt, Alby, the rest of the Runners and basically everyone in the Arts department, was fully aware of the situation at hand, and Thomas found himself wanting to punch Ben in the nose.

“NO SHUCKING WAY!” Jeff yelled back.

Thomas noticed Newt at the other side of the field, who’d given him a subtle glance with a nonchalant shrug, before he began to make his way back inside, hiding his blush behind a math text book, his group of admirers following after him.

…

The WICKED Facade Exhibition was relatively packed, mainly consisting of mega fans and curious collage students with a few kids here and there, plus maybe one or two old couples. Thomas felt somewhat uncomfortable watching his own admirers celebrating his personal achievements as Facade.

The entire event was inside a glass dome, surrounded by guards wearing lab coats and strange inspectors with what appeared to be some sort of x-ray scanners. Facade statues and video feeds were placed everywhere about the room, guides walking across the hall and leading enthusiastic fans around the displays.

At some point during their walk about the dome, Newt had interlocked their fingers; the closeness and intimacy of the blonde’s gentle touch causing Thomas to grow immensely embarrassed.

“You alright, Tommy?” Newt had asked, bumping the young brunette with his elbow. “You seem a little tense.”

“Well, I don’t get out much.” Thomas said with a cute shrug, causing the blond to giggle and subtly nudge his shoulder with his own. Thomas had never noticed how soft Newt seemed. He found himself remarking on the blonde’s tender voice and delicate skin, on how pure and beautiful he always seemed to be. It only made Thomas want to protect him from the world that much more. “And I’m also kind of freaking out right now.”

“Why’s that?” Newt had asked rather naively.

“…Well, I’m kinda’ sorta’ on a date with this really cute blond I’ve had a crush on for, um, well a while.” Thomas stuttered and Newt couldn’t help but blush, smiling to himself.

“Tommy, you’re as stunning and full of possibility as a protoplanetary disk.” The blond had said almost spontaneously, and the very words made Thomas’ heart stop completely.

He chuckled, still processing the fact that Newt had just used the most nerdy and yet adorable pick-up line to ever be created. “Really? Because I kind of feel like an accretion disk, pulled in by one of the universe’s most alluring gravities, being you.”

Newt laughed, shaking his head. “Why, thank you.” Thomas smirked, giving Newt’s hand a subtle squeeze as they continued to walk through the Exhibition.

They’d eventually made their way over to the second floor of the glass auditorium, and Newt stood by the balcony side that looked down upon the first floor, his elbows rested against the barrier. “So, what you planning on doing this summer?” Newt had asked.

“Probably just stay in town.” Thomas replied, the fact being he wasn’t exactly able to leave town without Facade disappearing, and that’d be a little suspicious to say the least.

“You know, I’m flying back to the United Kingdom to see my family. You can tag along if you want.” Newt offered with a sweet smile.

“…I’d...love to, but…” Thomas gave a lengthy sigh. “I…can’t. My mom doesn’t like me leaving town.”

“…Oh…I see.” Newt hummed, attempting to hide his disappointment by looking down at the lower level just over the balcony, and Thomas couldn’t help but feel bad.

Thomas opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced as a strange woman dressed in white approached them. “Afternoon, gentlemen.”

Thomas gives a slight baffled look. Newt is the first to respond with his usual polite charm. “Afternoon.”

“I hope you two are enjoying the exposition.” She says with a light smile.

“We are indeed.” Newt said and Thomas hadn’t even the time to wonder how Newt could speak with such confidence in his tone. “I presume you’re one of the WICKED associates?”

“Oh, do excuse me. Where are my manners?” She sighs and glances over at Thomas, and he could have sworn it was as though she were examining every little detail on him. “My name’s Ava Paige. I am an official here.”

Newt seemed somewhat taken aback. “Ava Paige? You’re the woman who started the super-human investigation?”

“I know. You’d expect more from such a title.” She chuckles. “I’ve decided to check in on a few of my guests just to make sure they’re all having a good time.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.” Newt says flatteringly.

She glances at the brunette again, and Thomas was beginning to get a little uncomfortable. “Say, your friend over here seems awfully quiet. I hope my presence isn’t discomforting.”

“Yeah, no, sorry. I’m just…” Thomas shook his head, bringing his focus back. “I’m not good with, uh, new people.”

“Oh, well that’s understandable.” She utters. “Well, I shall let you both get on with yourselves.”

“It was nice meeting you.” Newt calls as Thomas practically drags him away from the woman.

As soon as the two of them were out of sight, Ava looked to one of the nearby standing WICKED staff-men, whispering into his ear, “Follow them.”

…

Newt and Thomas walked down the empty street way, hand in hand and Newt subconsciously giving Thomas’ fingers a light squeeze every few seconds, as though to check he was still there. “I think the problem with me is that I kind of find it hard to talk to people.” 

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “That’s a joke, right?”

Newt simply giggled. “No, I mean like, not just bloody talking, like, having a conversation that actually means something real.”

“I’d have thought every conversation you have would be meaningful.” Thomas had stated before instantly regretting it. “Not in like a creepy way, but like, you know, I mean as in, like, you know, like, people enjoy talking to you, and like, I don’t like, I um--”

“Yeah, I get it, Tommy. I get it. Thank you.” Newt said with a soft blush peppering his skin. He couldn’t help but find this guy adorable. “Guess I’ll always have you to talk to if I’m ever running low on ‘meaningful conversations’.”

“Is that your way of saying you like talking to me?” Thomas smirked. Newt gave him a nudge on the shoulder.

“Don’t get cocky.”

The brunette simply laughed.

“Well, this is my house.” Newt stated, stopping outside the front gate. “You, um…have a good night, Tommy.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Newt seemed to pause, the blush returning to his cheeks, before he took a step closer to Thomas, gently pulling at the brunette’s shirt collar to give him an affectionate kiss.

Thomas had himself caught off guard, feeling the blood rush to his head. The kiss was soft and warm. To him, it was surprisingly comfortable. As soon as they parted, he felt an immediate rush of electricity spark right through him. It’d been more adrenaline than he’d ever experienced in his entire life.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Newt said coyly, unable to look the brunette directly in the eye. “I’ll call you.”

“Uh…yeah, um, yeah, tomorrow.” Thomas nodded. Newt had a smile pulling at his lips as he went back into the house.

What a good shucking day.

…

“I knew that boy looked familiar.” Ava huffed, sitting down at her desk. “He’s that photographer Facade seems to fancy. He’s been in all of the papers recently. And what about the other boy?”

“Well, I’m not sure.” The man replied. “Our profilers did a little research and found out his name is apparently Thomas Edison. I assume him to be some sort of lover. They shared a kiss before parting ways that evening. If I may be as so bold as to ask, why has he taken your attention?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ava said, standing. “If my suspicion is correct, Facade has feelings for that photographer. If that were true, then it’d not be wrong to suspect Thomas to be Facade. Though, the only true way to figure out if there is a real connection between this photographer and Facade…is by using the blond as bait.

“If we were to lure Facade in with said photographer, then it wouldn’t be too much of a challenge to have Facade reveal his identity.” Ava gave a smile. “Well, better get working. It looks like we’ve got a blond to catch.”


End file.
